Zynga Moves Into Combat Zone With Empires & Allies

Zynga continues to expand way beyond the farms that made it famous. On Tuesday, the San Francisco-based social gaming company announced the launch of its first strategy combat game, Empires & Allies.

Empires & Allies is the first title to come out of the Los Angeles development studio Zynga opened last year. The game will launch internationally in 12 different languages on Wednesday, June 1.

In a press release, Empires & Allies‘ executive producer Amer Ajami said the game incorporates the social mechanics that have defined Zynga’s super popular, if less bellicose, titles. “Empires & Allies is strategy combat gone social – think CityVille meets Risk,” the press release quotes Ajami as saying. “We’re focused on bringing our players a new form of entertainment, and a strategy game is definitely a new playground for us.”

Zynga has displayed a keen focus on growth in recent months with a series of acquisitions of well-reputed indie gaming developers. These deals, and the launch of Empires & Allies, could signify that Zynga wants to be recognized for its artistic and technical prowess as well as for its highly profitable mass appeal.